Northern Foods sees steady progress in bakery

15 July, 2009

Northern Foods has achieved “further progress” in bakery according to its interim management statement for the first quarter.

Underlying revenue in its Bakery division rose by 6.8% for the 13 weeks to 27 June 2009. The firm said brand investment in Fox’s Biscuits, with its ‘Vinnie’ TV campaign and activities on Facebook and Twitter, had led to increased purchases of the brand.

Revenue in its Chilled division rose by 9.2%, with the recent warm weather resulting in increased demand for sandwiches and salads.

The company’s Frozen division saw a drop in underlying revenue of 1.5% compared to the same period last year. The firm noted the closure of its original pizza manufacturing site at Poldys in Ireland last year as the reason behind the loss. However, it said frozen pies continued to perform well.

Overall group underlying revenue was up 5.5% on Q1 last year.

“Our focus on high-quality products, to serve a range of tastes and budgets, positions us well to continue our progress. We have much more to do and have a number of initiatives to drive the business forward,” commented Stefan Barden, chief executive of Northern Foods.